3 Stonington Nonprofits Score Grants For Programming And Planning

STONINGTON, CT — Three Stonington nonprofits have been awarded nearly $37,000 in grants by Connecticut Humanities, a nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The funding is part of $203,479 approved in Capacity, Planning, and Implementation grants to 13 cultural organizations to support humanities projects throughout the state.

Connecticut Humanities funds, creates and collaborates on hundreds of cultural programs across Connecticut each year. It administers a competitive grant pool made possible by the Connecticut General Assembly.

The $20,000 Planning and Implementation grant awarded to the Stonington Historical Society will go toward the presentation of "The Days of Rollie McKenna: A Life in Photography." The feature film explores the life, work, cultural influence, and impact of queer photographer Rollie McKenna. The film builds on recent projects, new scholarship, newly acquired collections, oral and video histories, and expanded perspectives to examine McKenna’s extensive photographic catalog documenting the literati and architecture of the twentieth century. A premiere in the fall of 2025 will be shown locally, expanded regionally with CPTV, and distributed across educational networks, according to organizers.

A $7,000 Planning and Implementation grant awarded to the James Merrill House Foundation will help fund a wide-ranging discussion-based public program in October 2026 celebrating the centennial of the birth of James Merrill. "James Merrill: The First Hundred Years" will explore Merrill’s multiple legacies: his writing, his life in his Stonington home, now a National Historic Landmark, and the 120-plus diverse writers of all genres and career stages who have been in residence in the Merrill House since 1996.

Connecticut Humanities has awarded the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center a $9,999 Capacity for strategic planning. The nonprofit will hire consultants Fio Partners to craft a plan to guide the organization’s growth for the next five years with an outlook for the following five years. The plan will consider community and stakeholder needs to address inclusive practices to expand programming, public activities, and environmental stewardship with an emphasis on furthering our mission by enhancing the interpretation of the connection between nature and human communities, according to a news release.

Of the 13 total awards, three were for Capacity grants, totaling $25,650. Capacity grants help Connecticut organizations that bring humanities to the public think strategically, better understand their audiences, assets, and operations, and plan for the future, according to a news release from Connecticut Humanities.

The remaining $177,829 was awarded to 10 organizations for Planning and Implementation grants, which support the planning and execution of humanities projects, such as exhibitions, public programs, and interpretive digital media projects.

Funded projects include ones that:

• Expand the historic and cultural narrative around marginalized peoples including Black, Indigenous, Puerto Rican, and queer communities.
• Commemorate America’s Semiquincentennial – the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence taking place in 2026.
• Inspire civic involvement among youth and adults.
• Support exhibitions, lectures, and films on Connecticut artists, writers, and photographers.

"We are pleased to support opportunities for the public to connect and engage with humanities content and themes, and these projects are stellar examples," said Dr. Jason R. Mancini, executive director for CT Humanities. "Through our grant funding, we help our cultural organizations cultivate the curiosity, knowledge, and understanding that is essential to a healthy democracy."